Cian reaches summit of his ambitions

AMID serious fears for his safety, Northsider Cian O’Brolchain’s long-term dream finally came through when he successfully reached the summit of the highest mountain in the world – Mount Everest.

In spite of one of the worst seasons for fatalities on Everest, the Drumcondra local reached the peak at 1am, Irish time, on Friday May 25.

It was a dream come true for the 33-year-old finance professional and tennis trainer who had been preparing for the challenge since 2009.

In a phone call home Cian said the task was

“tough

? but added that he felt

“pretty good

?.

Cian, who was climbing to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, reached the summit just days after a number of fatalities on the notorious South Col route brought the estimated number of deaths on Everest this season to 11.

Making it through the treacherous Death Zone near the summit was particularly hazardous as Cian had to navigate with and around 200 or so other climbers, all of whom were pushing to reach the summit before the weather window closed at the end of May.

Making it back down to base camp should have been the end of the ordeal for Cian but Mother Nature had one more challenge for him to face as bad weather forced the closure of Lukla Airport.

The airport, which connects climbers to the outside world and has one of the most dangerous runways in the world, was closed for several days due to the weather.

Cian’s father Donal, who lives on Griffith Avenue, told Northside People that he was

“relieved

? that his son returned to Base Camp safely.

“Of course as parents we were worried and nervous for him but I was confident that he had prepared well for the climb to Everest and that fortune favours the prepared mind,

? he said.

“Obviously though incidents do happen that he nor we would have no control of.

“I do feel he’s safe now but even if he wasn’t, there wouldn’t be anything we could do about it apart from pray. You have to be realistic. He’s a young man in his 30’s and he’s taken this challenge on, although his mother said she wishes he stuck to tennis.

?

Donal first gave his kids a taste oor heights by teaching them how to climb the trees at the back of their family home.

The proud father described how he had guarded relief when Cian called him to say he’d reached the summit.

“He said the conditions up there were tough enough. It was very windy and very cold but he was pleased with his day’s climbing.

“Although I knew he had two more days of high risk climbing to get back to base camp and that it would be Sunday before he would be in a de-risked stage.

?

Ian Taylor, who became the youngest ever Irishman to reach the summit of Everest in 2008, had provided training support and advice to Cian in his bid to reach the summit.

According to Ian, people should be under no illusion of how difficult and treacherous the climb is.

“It’s really quite horrible and something that I wouldn’t want to do again,

? he told Northside People.

“When I was on Everest two people ahead of me never came back down. A friend of mine went blind and another guy I was climbing with broke two ribs because he coughed so much.

“Cian himself had a lot of hassle on the mountain mainly because there were too many people up there.

“The mountain is dangerous enough without having to navigate and be mindful of many other people pulling and holding onto ropes around you.

“Also you have to remember that these are all people who are functioning on a third of their normal oxygen level.

?

Ian believes that greed and a lack of control and governance on the part of some trekking companies is making the mountain even more lethal and treacherous.

“Nepal is the fourth poorest country in the world and I really don’t imagine they would implement a limit on the numbers on Everest when each of the climbers are paying $10,000 to be there,

? he said.

“I’m sure they would let twice the number of people up there if they could.

“Also, some trekking companies are bringing climbers who haven’t experienced altitudes of over 8,000 metres to Everest just because they have the money to pay for the trip.

“You can almost buy your place on Everest now whereas climbers like Cian and I worked hard and earned it by climbing many other mountains before Everest.

?